Mommy Memoirs: The Good Guys

A few real life observations this week that I feel compelled to share:

Toddlers are weirdos.

This week my two-year-old had a come-apart in the car because … wait for it … his hair was growing. Tragic.

The very same evening he got upset with me for taking a bite of the imaginary donut he shoved in my face, because apparently it was actually a human heart.

Is this real life? lol

The Secret Life of Pets

My son had his very first movie theatre experience last weekend, and for those who haven’t seen it yet, here’s my review:

4 Stars **** (out of 5) - An animal adventure flick with lots of action and humor (a smidgin of adult humor that was over his head), adorable characters, and good morals in the storyline. Overall, a great family movie. My two year old was entertained from start to finish and belly laughed throughout. Duration time was about 1.5 hours. (Rated PG)

The Good Guys

I picked my toddler up from day care last week and as we passed the Lafayette Police Department on our way home, he noticed something new out of his window.

“What’s that, mama?” he asked while pointing.

It was a funeral spray wreath set up on an easel in front of the building in honor of the five officers recently killed in Dallas.

I looked at his innocent face in the rearview mirror and it was one of those moments.

You know what I’m talking about.

Those moments we have to come to terms with the evil and sadness in the world and come up with some sort of explanation for it, when there just isn’t one.

I wondered, as a parent, what I could do to honor these fallen officers and their families and it became clear to me that I owed each of them a conversation.

A conversation with my two-year-old son about police officers or - a term he better understands - ‘the good guys.’

If nothing else, we as parents can honor the memory of each of those officers by raising our children to respect and trust law enforcement. We can honor their families by teaching future generations that police officers are here to help them and keep them safe when they feel scared or are in danger.

We can explain in the simplest of terms that police officers help “catch the bad guys” and “protect people.”

We can choose to attach bravery, love and support to the uniform instead of fear, hate and distrust.

There isn’t much any of us can do about the current state of the world, but let’s not forget that we tuck the future of it into bed every night.

In honor of each of the officers killed by a stranger they were sworn to protect - may our children grow to learn that a world without good guys is not a world worth living in at all.